PHILOSOPHY

Reincarnation

Everyone wonders what happens after death at some point in their life. Throughout history, some of the most thoughtful minds have advocated that life does not end with the death of our body but continues on via a process known as reincarnation. In the Western world, followers of the Orphic religion in ancient Greece were the firstknown exponents of reincarnation. They were succeeded by Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and a host of other philosophers.

The Vedic literature of India advocates that the soul, or atma, gives life to the body.Life does not arise from a combination of material elements as some modern scientists theorize. At the time of death, we leave one body and enter a new one. That is called reincarnation.

The concept is not as alien as it might seem. We can observe that we changefrom one body to another throughout our lifetime.Our body at birth is completely different from our adult body. Yet throughout these changes,the conscious self remains the same. Similarly, the conscious self remains the same at death and transfers from one body to the next in the cycle of reincarnation.

Our present body is the result of a long series of actions and reactions in previous lives. The law that governs this is known as karma: every action has a reaction. Our previous actions have produced our present body, and our current actions will determine our next body.

Only in the human form can we free ourselves from the otherwise endless cycle of reincarnation, of birth and death, by re-establishing our eternal, loving relationship with Lord Krishna. As Krishna states in Bhagavad Gita 8.16, "From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery whereinrepeated birth and death take place. But one attains to My abode never takes birth again."

Karma

Ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? Why we suffer? Why some days areawesome and others morose? If God exists, why does He keep quiet about it?The answer to all the above questions is karma.

Karma is one of those topics that many people know about, but few understand the intricacies of. In literal terms, "karma" means “activity” and the law of karma regulates the reactions to our activities. If we act in good or pious ways, we reap good reactions. If we act in impious, sinful, or destructive ways, we reap bad reactions in the future. Christian theology explains, "As ye sow so shall ye reap" while in physics karma is expressed by Newton’s Law, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Karmic reactions include not only things that happen to us, but determine our health, wealth, intelligence, physical appearance, and social status, as well as our personalities and inclinations. While we have some degree of freedom to choose our current actions, our choices are influenced by our natures, or personalities, which have developed from our previous actions.

Karma thus locks us up in a cycle of action and subsequent reaction. As long as we are in this cycle, we will experience both happiness and distress. Even if we act in a pious way, we destine ourselves to accept anothermaterial body at death to enjoy the reactions to our materially good actions. As long as we accept one material body after another, we cannot avoid the miseries of disease, old age, and death.

Fortunately, karma is temporary. We can break free from its bonds by performing spiritual acts in service to Krishna. Such acts of devotion, or bhakti-yoga, purify the soul and gradually awaken our spiritual knowledge and innate love for Krishna. Thus, both our karma and our long-standing desire to enjoy life within the illusory material world—the root cause of our bondage—are destroyed.

Meditation

Meditation is a spiritual practice found in practically all religious and spiritual traditions, although the methods differ.

Traditional yogic systems employ complex meditation techniques, often working with different bodily postures to align
our external and subtle selves and focus our minds towards self-realization. To quiet the mind and provide a point of focus,
yogis are advised to concentrate onupon mantras including Sanskrit syllables and the names of God.

The Vaishnava tradition recommends that chanting the names of God to be is a particularly effective method of spiritual
awakening, simultaneously opening us to an incredibly empowering experience.

In this system, meditation has three distinct forms: japa, kirtan and sankirtan. In japa, the meditator individually and softly recites
God’s name with the use of beads, similar to the Christian rosary. Kirtan is a public meditation, in which one loudly sings the names of
God accompanied by musical instruments. When performed in a group this is called sankirtan.

This entire process is centered around the recitation of the names of God. The prayer or mantra that ISKCON devotees repeat is called the Maha Mantra, or the "great mantra for deliverance." It is made
up of three words Hare, Krishna and Rama. Hare refers to God’s energy. Krishna and Rama refer to God as the all-attractive and all-powerful one who is the source of all pleasure. Repetition of this mantra awakens the soul and brings strength, peace and happiness. It ultimately connects us with
Lord Krishna and reveals our original spiritual life of eternal bliss and knowledge.

God is a person

Even though God is widely recognized as the greatest person,
His form and personality are not widely known about. Even many theists think that,
in the ultimate issue, God is formless.Pictures of Lord Krishna playing a
flute are commonly dismissed as quaint,mythological representations of the ineffable,
faceless "Divine."

However, there is overwhelming evidence suggesting
that the Supreme Person is not abstract at all. In the Vedas—the oldest and most
comprehensive
of all the world’s scriptures—one can discoverthat the Absolute Truth has both impersonal
and personal aspects.His eternal, blissful, all-knowing,
and all-attractive personality tendsto remain hidden behind
His all-pervasive majesty and overwhelming greatness.

Since everything in our experience has form and qualities,it
makes sense that the source of all sources should also have form and qualities,
and to an infinite degree. As drops of ocean water have the ocean’s qualities
in minute degree, our forms and personalities are infinitesimal samples of the
infinite Supreme Person.

Vedic writings describe in detail the unlimited
names, activities,opulence, and associates of the Supreme Person.
Krishna ("all-attractive") is how He’s referred to by those whoare interested
more in His supreme, transcendental personality than in His greatness.

Books such as the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Brahma-samhita contain elaborate accounts
of Krishna’s many attractive forms and activities, both in this temporary universe
and in the world beyond.

Bhakti-yoga

Yoga is more than just a physical exercise. The word "yoga" comesfrom the
Sanskrit root yuj which means to link up with,or combine.
Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit word bhaj, which means loving service.
Bhakti-yoga means to connect tothe Supreme by means of loving
devotional service.The Bhagavad Gita, the core spiritual text for
ISKCON, describes a varietyof yoga practices. Among them are karma-yoga
(the practice of conscious action),
jnana-yoga (philosophical study and contemplation),and hatha-yoga
(the practice of yoga-asanas and breathing exercises).

Today, some yoga
practitioners consider the physical benefitsof yoga to be the ends in themselves.
But according to the traditionalyoga systems,
physical exercises are just one step on the path ofGod realization.
The Gita ultimately prescribes bhakti-yoga (the path of dedication and love)
as the culmination of the other yoga practices.Bhakti-yoga focuses on
developing our dedication, serviceand love for the Divinity, Lord Krishna.
The path of bhakti-yoga is developed through a variety of activities.
These include mantra meditation, or the chanting of the names of God.
The chanting is done either individually on beads(japa) or in
community by chanting mantras accompanied by music (kirtan).The study of
sacred texts such as the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, associating
with like-minded spiritual aspirants, eating sanctified
vegetarian food, and living in a way that upholds the principles ofruthfulness,
mercy, austerity, and cleanliness, are all core practices in the life of a follower of bhakti.

Holy scriptures

Bhagavad-Gita
No sacred treatise, has a setting as intriguing as the Bhagavad Gita. The dialogue
between the princely warrior Arjuna and
Lord Krishna, the Supreme Godhead before the onset outset of the Mahabharatawar
is universally renowned as the jewel of India’s spiritual wisdom.

Paralyzed
by the fear of killing his kinsmen, friends and teachers in the opposite army,
Arjuna decided not to fight, putting aside
his social duty as kshatriya (warrior). Krishna, whoagreed to become
the driver of Arjuna’s chariot, eloquently explains him to
Arjuna on in the midst of the battlefield about his duties of being a warrior.
The conversation moves to a series of questions and
answers about metaphysical conceptssuch as the soul, one’s relationship
with God, liberation, karma yoga
(the principle of non-attached action), jnana yoga (knowledge) and
bhakti yoga (devotion).

In translating the Gita, A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupadahas unlocked all the secrets of the ancient knowledge ofthe
Gita and placed them before us as an exciting opportunity forself-improvement and
spiritual fulfillment. The Bhagavad Gita As It Is the
largestselling edition of Gita in the Western world and translated
in over 76 languages.

"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments
stare me in the face,and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to
Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to
smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow.
Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new
meanings from it every day." Mahatma Gandhi

Vedas

The word Veda can be traced to the Sanskrit word vid which means
"to know" or "knowledge." The Vedic texts contain
information on varied various topics: from medicine to cosmology, from techniques of
yoga and meditation to the explanation of lessons in political and military science.

Written by Lord Vyasadeva, the Vedas are divided into fourbooks; Rig Veda
(the Veda of the earliest sacred hymns), Sama Veda (the Veda of melodies),
Yajur Veda (the Veda of rituals) and Atharva Veda (the Veda of incantations.)
The Vedas also included the Upanishads, numerous Sutras
(books of concise truth) and the Vedangas (auxiliary sciences related to
Vedic study, such as astronomy, astrology and phonetics.)

In addition, there are Upavedas (sciences not directly related to
Vedic study), such as Ayurveda (study of holistic medicine) and
Gandharva-Veda (study of music). It also included Puranas
such as Srimad Bhagavatam and epics like as Mahabharata and Ramayana.

According to the Vaishnava tradition, this knowledge was passed down, from
master to disciple in disciplic succession or parampara.